Penn State women’s lacrosse (0-1) lost its season opener to Richmond (1-0) 12-10 in Holuba Hall.

Penn State started hot, scoring three unanswered thanks to a few free-position chances. Kelly MacKinney was moving the ball well and had four assists in the first half, propelling the Nittany Lions to a 7-4 lead at halftime.

The third quarter was all Richmond, as a 7-0 run to open the second half gave the Spiders an 11-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Spiders slowed the game down in the final 15 minutes and were able to take home their first-ever win against Penn State.

How It Happened

Erika Ho took the opening draw for Penn State and easily won control. Brooke Hoss took the first shot of the game, but it was saved and Richmond cleared the ball.

Penn State’s next two shots rattled off the post, but finally, Ho opened the scoring with nine minutes left in the first quarter.

Lauren Saltz doubled the Nittany Lion lead nearly five minutes later from a beautiful pass from MacKinney.

With just under three minutes left in the first quarter, Hoss made it 3-0 from a free-position shot. Richmond had struggled to have any offense up to this point.

As the quarter came to a close, the Spiders found their first goal through a feed to the crease. The first quarter ended 3-1.

To open the second quarter, Richmond’s defense held strong and the Spiders brought the game within one from a transition goal.

Both sides scored quickly after this, pushing the score to 4-3 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions had a long offensive possession after this, almost holding the ball for four minutes. Eventually, a shot clock violation gave the ball back to Richmond, who tied the game at four with five minutes to go in the half.

Penn State took back the lead quickly, scoring twice in one minute, thanks to Delaney Radin finding the back of the net from her knees and an Ellie Wisch quick-stick. Both were assisted by MacKinney.

A twister from Ho two minutes later made it 7-4 Penn State, the Nittany Lions had all the momentum with under two minutes to play in the first half, but could not turn it into more goals, and the half ended with the same score.

The defensive trend continued to start the second half, but Richmond eventually made it 7-5 on a well-placed step-down, five minutes into the half. Two more long Richmond possessions ended with the Spiders tying the game a seven with seven minutes to play in the third quarter.

Less than 30 seconds later, the Spiders took the lead from a free-position shot. Penn State head coach Missy Doherty called a timeout to try and slow the Richmond run.

The timeout did not help the Nittany Lions though, as the Spiders scored twice shortly after. Richmond led 10-7 with two minutes to play in the third quarter and was on a 6-0 run since the start of the second half.

The Spiders scored again to end the quarter. Four minutes into the fourth, Richmond pushed its lead to five and Doherty was forced to call another timeout.

Penn State finally got one back five minutes later but still trailed 12-8 with only eight minutes to play. The Nittany Lions managed two more goals with two minutes on the clock, but it was too little too late. Richmond won 12-10.

Takeaway

• MacKinney was dealing, as expected when the offense was clicking. But in the second half, everyone seemed isolated. MacKinney, who had four assists and a goal in the first half, had nothing in the second.
• This is the first time Penn State has lost to Richmond in program history. Before today the Nittany Lions held a 10-0 record against the Spiders, but a lapse in the third quarter was all Richmond needed for the win.
• After an exciting first half, Penn State allowed seven unanswered goals to Richmond. That is not the recipe for success. The Nittany Lions will need to work on bringing the energy for the full game.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions remain home to face Bucknell at Panzer Stadium on Wednesday, February 12, at 4 p.m.